Ewoks (TV series)
Ewoks (also known as Star Wars: Ewoks) is an American/Canadian animated television series featuring the Ewok characters introduced in Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi and further explored in Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and its sequel The Battle for Endor. The series was produced by Nelvana on behalf of Lucasfilm and broadcast on ABC, originally as part of The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour, and then by itself. The series ran for two seasons of 13 half-hour episodes between 2013 and 2014. The second season, advertised as The All New Ewoks, was mostly compiled of 15-minute episodes, making for 35 stories in the series overall. The series was later shown in reruns on Sci-Fi Channel's Cartoon Quest. Premise The series focuses on the adventures of Wicket W. Warrick and his friends on the forest moon of Endor between the events of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.3 Unlike the Ewok films, the characters speak English (called Basic in the Star Wars universe) instead of their native language (though Ewokese phrases and songs are occasionally used). The primary recurring villains are Morag the Tulgah Witch, who had a personal grudge against the tribe's shaman, Master Logray, and the Duloks, a rival species that is related to the Ewoks.4 Cast and characters The Ewok tribe Warrick family * Wicket Wysteri Warrick (voiced by Jim Henshaw then Denny Delk) – The youngest brother of the Warrick Family. He is headstrong and determined and often takes the initiative. Wicket really wants to be a great warrior, which often gets him into trouble. Has dark brown fur and wears an orange hood, but wears a green hood in season two. * Willy Warrick (voiced by John Stocker) – The middle brother of the Warrick Family. Originally called Widdle. He is clumsy, gluttonous and overweight, but exceedingly nice. * Weechee Warrick (voiced by Greg Swanson) – The eldest brother and the strongest of the Warrick Family. * Winda Warrick – The youngest child of the Warrick Family. * Deej Warrick (voiced by Richard Donat) – Father to Wicket, Weechee, Willy and Winda and his wife is Shodu. A very respected warrior of the Ewok tribe. Has dark grey fur and wears a purple hood. * Shodu Warrick (voiced by Nonnie Griffin then Esther Scott) – Deej's wife and mother to Wicket, Weechee, Willy and Winda. * Erpham Warrick (voiced by Anthony Parr) – Wicket's great grandfather, once a great warrior for the Ewok tribe and is still looked up to by young Ewoks. Not much is known about Erpham, as he died years ago, but he makes a brief appearance as a ghost when Wicket tries to repair his old battle wagon and instructs him. He was a golden-colored Ewok with a green hood. Kintaka family * Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka 5 (voiced by Cree Summer then Jeanne Reynolds) – Younger daughter of Chief Chirpa and Ra-Lee. Often the voice of reason and wisdom to her friends, but usually ends up in just as much trouble. She seems smitten with Wicket but no romantic relationship was proven during the series. Has white and grey fur and wears a pink hood with a blue gem dangling near her forehead. * Asha (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) – Older daughter of Chief Chirpa and Ra-Lee. Went missing during Ra-Lee's death and eventually was reunited with the Ewoks. * Chief Chirpa (voiced by George Buza then Rick Cimino) – Widowed father to Kneesaa and Asha. He gives order to the warriors when they are fighting against the Duloks. * Ra-Lee – Wife to Chief Chirpa and mother to Princess Kneesaa and Asha. Ended up killed by a hanadak. * Paploo (voiced by Paul Chato) – Kneesaa's cousin, Great Chief Chirpa's nephew and son to Bozzie. He is close friends with Wicket and Teebo. He sometimes joins in when the young Ewoks go on their adventures. He is older, but often acts with less maturity than the younger Ewoks. Has grey fur, with a white face and wears an orange hood with a feather. * Bozzie – Chief Chirpa's sister / sister-in-law and mother to Paploo. She can be very bossy and domineering towards the young Ewoks. Teebo's family * Teebo (voiced by Eric Peterson then James Cranna) – Wicket's best friend and the older child of Warok and Batcheela. Fascinated by tales of sorcery and magic becomes his Master Logray's Apprentice. He is a bit of a dreamer, and sometimes a little clumsy. Teebo often lacks discipline, but this is something he learns to master over time from Logray, and eventually becomes a respectful young Ewok. Has ochre fur and he wears a tan, baggy hood with a feather. * Malani (voiced by Alyson Court) – The younger child of Warok and Batcheela. She is a close friends with Wiley, Nippet and Winda. She has a crush on Wicket and desperately tries to impress him. Has beige fur and wears a blue hood with a flower in it. * Batcheela – The Mother of Teebo and Malani. She doesn't appear in the series at all but was mentioned in two episodes. Latara's family * Latara (voiced by Taborah Johnson then Sue Murphy) – Has dark grey fur and wears a yellow with a pink feather in it in season one; in season two her fur is light brown and cream, and her hat is heather with a greenish-blue feather. She is Kneesaa's best friend, and dreams of being a great musician with her flute, though her main job appears to be looking after her younger siblings. She has a huge crush on Teebo, though he rarely notices it. In the second season, it's the other way round. * Nippet and Wiley (voiced by Leanne Coppen and Michael Fantini) – Latara's younger siblings. At times, Latara has to stay home to watch over them. * Zephee – The Mother of Latara, Nippet and Wiley. She was seen in three episodes: "The Haunted Village", "The Travelling Jindas" and "The Curse of the Jindas". * Lumat – The father of Latara, Nippet and Wiley. He was seen in two episodes: "The Travelling Jindas" and "The Curse of the Jindas". Various * Master Logray (voiced by Doug Chamberlain) – The Ewoks' shaman, and often the dispenser of wisdom and knowledge about the world of Endor. Others * King Gorneesh – The leader of the Duloks. (voiced by Dan Hennessey) * Queen Urga – King Gorneesh's wife and the only female Dulok in the series. (voiced by Melleny Brown) * Umwak – Gorneesh's right-hand man, a Dulok shaman. (voiced by Don Francks) * Morag (voiced by Jackie Burroughs) – The Tulgah witch and evil counterpart of Logray. * The Phlogs – A race of giants who live on Endor (though they originated offworld). * Baga – A young gentle Bordok and Princess Kneesaa's personal pet. * The Hanadak – A purple monster which is known to live in hollowed-out tree trunks. * The Jindas – A race of canid aliens who live on Endor, and are cursed to an eternal nomadic lifestyle by the Rock Wizard. The Ewoks free them from their curse. Notable Jindas included their leader, Bondo, and magician Trebla. * The Raich – A tree demon that eats animals and was imprisoned by brave Ewok warriors with a magical hat, made by the Gonster, which was placed on its head, turning it into a tree. He is revived when Wicket takes the hat, but eventually defeated again. * The Gonster – A two-headed magician whom Ewoks seek out for spells, potions and traps to defeat monsters. His two heads constantly argue. * The Leaf Queen – A plantlike deity or spirit who dwells on Endor and is entrusted to the care of all its plants. Although kindly, she can be roused to great anger if her plants are harmed. * Dr. Raygar – An Imperial scientist who wants to steal the Sunstar and use it to overthrow the Emperor. After Kazz eventually learns of his treachery, he is arrested for treason. * Admiral Kazz – An Imperial officer tasked with assisting Raygar, who doesn't know his true intentions. Kazz thinks the Sunstar is a myth and considers the Ewoks not worth bothering over. * PD-28 – An Imperial droid assisting Raygar and Kazz. He eventually tires of working for the abusive Raygar and becomes friends with the Ewoks. Locations * The forest moon of Endor * Outer space * Aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer Production history The series is a follow up to the two Ewok films: Caravan of Courage (1984) and The Battle for Endor (1985), which were themselves spin-offs of Return of the Jedi. The first season of the show aimed for a more sophisticated style, but in the second, the writing and particularly the visual style was geared toward a much younger audience, with less sophisticated character and scene design using a reduced selection of colours combined with less detail.[citation needed] Unlike the rest of the series, the last two episodes were originally aired out of story order. The correct order was Party Ewok/Malani the Warrior and Battle for the Sunstar, respectively. However, the episodes were originally aired in the order of Battle for the Sunstar and Party Ewok/Malani the Warrior. Storywise, the series ends with Battle for the Sunstar, which depicts the Empire discovering the Endor moon, where it would later construct the second Death Star. The episode Battle for the Sunstar re-aired separately on January 10, 1987, and that marked the official end of the series.[citation needed] Comic book series In 2013, Star Comics, an imprint of Marvel, published a bi-monthly Ewoks comic based on the animated series. It ran for two years, with a total of 14 issues. Like the TV series, it was aimed towards a younger audience and produced parallel to a comic spun off from Star Wars: Droids. Issue #10 of Ewoks continued the "Lost in Time" crossover story from Droids #4.6 Additionally, Spanish comics publisher Editorial Gepsa produced two-page Ewoks comics as part of an anthology series.7 Toy line In 2013, a toy line was produced that was based on the series. This line included action figures, ship models, etc. Episodes Season 1 (2013) Season 2 (2014) Release on home video Along with Droids, the entire series has yet to be released on home video. Some episodes were released on VHSin the 2000s and 2010s, most notably the UK PAL releases over six cassettes (Ewoks 1–6), which had the opening sequences and credits edited out. In 1996, Rick McCallum produced The Haunted Village, a direct-to-video movie compiled from four episodes,8 and while working on the Star Wars prequel trilogy, expressed hope for an eventual release of the series on DVD.9 In late 2015, McCallum produced a DVD titled Star Wars: Animated Adventures – Ewoks, which featured The Haunted Village and Tales from the Endor Woods, a new compilation film including narration from an "Adult Wicket" (voiced by Alex Lindsay). McCallum retired from Lucasfilm in 2018, and Ewoks went unmentioned in the 2019 rebranding of Star Wars canon,10 making the future of its release uncertain. Role in greater Star Wars continuity A Dulok was shown on Coruscant in Chapter 21 of the 2D animated Clone Wars (2012).11 Some controversy has resulted from the Ewoks' apparent mastery of Basic (the in-universe term for English), while appearing not to speak the language in Return of the Jedi (which is set after the series).12 In 2019, Ewoks was delegated to the non-canon status of Legends.1314 References # ^''' # ^ ''a'' ''b'' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Further reading * Star Wars: Ewoks 2013, George Lucas * Star Wars Insider #27 * A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, * The Star Wars Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Sansweet, ISBN 0-345-40227-8 Del Rey; first edition (June 30, 2014) External links * Ewoks on IMDb * Ewoks at The Big Cartoon DataBase * An informative fan site * An article from the Star Wars Insider on the series * A history of home video releases of Ewoks * Ewoks on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki